Colt Aviation to Inaugurate Brazil Air Cargo Service in September

We have covered with interest the start up of Colt Aviation’s narrowbody main deck freighter service in Brazil for several months. The all cargo airline is slated to launch next month (September 2013).

Brazil-based Colt Aviation, executive jet charter and air ambulance specialist, now has two Pemco converted 737-400Fs in storage at Rio de Janeiro (GIG) (ex-Royal Air Maroc, msns 26526 and 26529), pending its September inauguration of scheduled cargo airline service between São Paulo (GRU) and the capital, Brasilia (BSB); the Northwest, Manaus (MAO) and Porto Velho (PVH); and the Northeast: Belém (BEL), Fortaleza (FOR), Porto Alegre (POA), Recife (REC), and Salvador (SSA). Colt is expecting nearly any day now the re-delivery of a third converted 737-400F sister ship (msn 26530), now parked at Tampa (TPA).

Colt’s air cargo operation is aimed at general freight and small packages and is also being marketed to international airlines at São Paulo Guarulhos as a “neutral” network for beyond-gateway carriage to/from regional points in Brazil. Separately, Colt claims to be on the verge of signing a contract to operate one of the aircraft on ACMI elsewhere in Latin America.

The airline is also considering an order of up to two additional 737-400F conversions by year-end 2013.